Lord Sesshomaru's Pride
by Demented Insane Spirit
Summary: Sesshomaru dwells on his ward, Rin, who seems to hold a leash on his sanity. One shot.


DIS: I have a tiny collection of Inuyasha DVDs and manga, only those of which have Sesshomaru or Rin in them. I could care less for anyone else, excepting Kagura-san and Kouga-kun. In any case, I had this weird urge to watch episode 99 and so here I am with yet another one-shot centering around my favorite characters.

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_Title: Lord Sesshomaru's Pride_

_Rating: K_

_Genre: General_

_Summary: Sesshomaru dwells on his ward, Rin, who seems to hold a leash on his sanity. One shot._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Ranma ½ (come on, they are basically the SAME thing and the SAME characters!!)_

_Notes/Warnings: Could be taken as Sesshomaru/Rin; one shot; yes, I realize the series is over, but I don't care_

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_Lord Sesshomaru's Pride_

"Lord Sesshomaru? Lord Sesshomaru, look!"

The male youkai drew his eyes from the peaceful, still landscape he had been gazing at to look at his young ward, Rin. Her face was full of light and happiness, her smile seeming to glow in comparison with the rest of the world that he had introduced to her. No matter how many times she was attacked while with him, she would always smile to him afterward, as though she sensed his inner turmoil in keeping her at his side. Every time they came to a relatively safe village that he could dump her at, something made him stop and consider whether she would be as safe there as she would with him.

Presently, she held a long string of flowers twisted and bound by the long, lime stems. The petals themselves were a pale hue of pink, fitting the new kimono he had gotten for her, as her previous one had begun to wear. It was clear that it was this flower necklace she had constructed for which she demanded his attention. He stared at it for a moment and then returned his amber gaze, devoid of all emotion, to her face. In the past few seconds, it seemed that she become even more thrilled, perhaps by his attention.

"Isn't it lovely?" She asked, testing the last word by separating the syllables. He almost smiled; Jaken had taught her this word only yesterday after she continued to repeat "beautiful" when she spoke of every flower they passed. This was only her second time using it. "It is for you, Lord Sesshomaru." She held it out to him, her eyes warm and naïve, just as her personality was. He once again looked at the necklace and then took it from her. He usually turned away from her and ignored whatever offering she held in her tiny hands. He did not slip the necklace around his neck, but held it loosely in his hand, staring across him at the smooth expanse of land. "...Thank you, my lord."

Sesshomaru glanced at where she had been a moment ago to see that she was jogging back to Jaken. She collapsed next to him, smiling her innocent, oblivious smile. Jaken also had a flower necklace that she had forced over his head. It was impossible that the imp might have taken it voluntarily. It sometimes surprised the youkai when Jaken was as patient with Rin as he was now. Jaken often made it appear as though Rin was his personal hellion raised from the underworld to torture him. There were rare times that he would trail after her without his lord's asking simply to make certain she did not get herself in any trouble. If not that, he would sit next to her and listen with half an ear as she chattered about some inane thing or another. If she said something that he deemed untrue, he would correct her and the majority of the time, she would listen to him. It was these times that Sesshomaru wondered if his servant was fond of the girl despite his antagonistic remarks towards her.

He pulled his attention to the flower necklace hanging from his wrist and thumb and touched one of the flower's silky petals with a finger. Twice, he had brought Rin from the dead. Once he did so simply because of the smile she had given to him when attempting to care for him. The second time was more personal; his mother had allowed him to enter the underworld and instead of bringing Jaken, Kohaku and Rin had come with him. It was a mistake for her to be with him and he had learned that when she was killed by one of the creatures.

He had cried then.

It was the first time that he ever recalled letting loose his anguish. Any other time that he felt pain, sadness, or any other such negative emotion, he hid it with a cold, pristine, emotionless mask. It was then that he learned how much he needed Rin to survive. She was the only person he had to depend on in order to remain sane. She, too, clung to him, but it never bothered him. He wanted to keep her close to make certain she would be safe, that nothing could possibly harm her.

Once his mother had brought Rin to life, he accepted the part of him that needed her. He could not deny it. However, he never let on to anyone the truth of his warm feelings for her. His pride refused to allow that, so he hid it well. He hid it to give himself a sense of security and so he would not lose the feared respect the other youkais who knew of him held. Just as he needed Rin, he needed his carefully constructed reputation in order to continue living.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" came Rin's voice. He broke away from his thoughts and looked to the girl. She trotted to him, holding a golden flower out to him. She raised it to his face, looking at his eyes. "It's the colour of your eyes."

"...So it is," he responded mildly.

_Finis_

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DIS: Just so it is clear, I made their relationship out as a father/daughter sort, not the romantic kind. She is, after all, only a child in this fiction. I would love to hear some feedback on how you guys liked this. Please leave a review, telling me how you liked it. Ciao!


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